People have started catching a new Covid variant that could soon take off and become the dominant type, according to scientists. Identified in Germany, in June, cases of the XEC variant have since emerged in the UK, US, Denmark and several other countries, say users on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Scientists have raised alarms about a new, more contagious COVID-19 variant, XEC, which is spreading rapidly across Europe and may soon become the dominant strain.